LOCAL: Parma Senior High School Student Busted for Having Fake Bomb in Backpack

PARMA, Ohio – A student at Parma Senior High School has been suspended after police found a fake bomb in his backpack.

Administrators at the school first got word of the threat at about 8:55 a.m. Tuesday, and then alerted an off-duty police officer working security at the school. A student told a teacher that a classmate showed the bomb-like object earlier in the morning, the school district said.

Parma police responded to the school and took the student into custody. The backpack in question, which was found in the student’s locker, was removed from the school.

Police determined the “bomb” inside the backpack was fake, and officers questioned the student. The building and student were confirmed safe and secure by 9:45 a.m., the district said in a news release.

The student said it was “only a joke.” Parma police said witnesses described the fake bomb as a box, wrapped in paper attached to a cell phone with wires on the outside.

The district said the student has been suspended for 10 days and has been recommended for expulsion. The student’s parents were notified and the student was turned over to the police department.